Address by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V at the opening of Nasir Mosque in Hartlepool 11th November 2005

(نوٹ: سیدنا حضرت خلیفۃالمسیح الخامس ایدہ اللہ تعالیٰ کے پرمعارف خطبات و خطابات قرآن کریم، احادیث مبارکہ اور حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ السلام کے ارشادات کی لطیف تفسیر ہیں – چنانچہ دوستوں کی خواہش پر ویب سائٹ ’’خادم مسرور‘‘ میں حضورانور ایدہ اللہ تعالیٰ کے ارشاد فرمودہ تمام خطبات جمعہ اور خطابات upload کئے جارہے ہیں تاکہ تقاریر اور مضامین کی تیاری کے سلسلہ میں زیادہ سے زیادہ مواد ایک ہی جگہ پر باآسانی دستیاب ہوسکے)

أَشْھَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللہُ وَحْدَہٗ لَا شَرِیکَ لَہٗ وَأَشْھَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُہٗ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ
أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوْذُ بِاللہِ مِنَ الشَّیْطٰنِ الرَّجِیْمِ- بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ۔ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ۔ مٰلِکِ یَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ اِیَّاکَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاکَ نَسْتَعِیْنُ۔
اِھْدِناَ الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِیْمَ۔ صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ غَیْرِالْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَلَاالضَّآلِّیْنَ۔

 

Honourable Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Peace and blessings of Allah be

upon you all.

Today, by the grace of God, we are inaugurating the Nasir Mosque, in a part of this country where it is the first Ahmadiyya Mosque in this region and this town. Those who are unfamiliar with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the true teachings of Islam may carry a fear in their hearts that the construction of this mosque, as perhaps seen by them, will destroy the peace and harmony of this region. This thought arises in the hearts of non-Muslims because, in the absence of any knowledge of the true teachings of Islam, they consider its teaching to be barbaric and promoting terrorism.

I am sorry to admit that there are two causes for this misconception. The first is the bias of those who do not fulfil all the requirements of absolute justice and unleash a propaganda against Islam, and the second is the deeds of some so-called Muslims that cause such an image to crystallise in one’s mind.

We need to understand the beauties of Islam from its fundamental book of law which, we Muslims believe, was revealed to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In this short time, I cannot, of course, describe them in great detail, but I will try to clarify a few things.

Please rid your mind of any thought that Islam promotes any kind of violence, or teaches one to violate the rights of others, or that it promotes cruelty, terrorism or disorder in the land, or permits one to take the law into one’s hands. Instead, Islam teaches love, affection, respect for the emotions and feelings of others, being kind and gentle towards other people, preserving equity and justice, and not to consider oneself above the law but to uphold and abide by the law at all times.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

Verily, Allah requires you to abide by justice, and to treat others with grace, and give like the giving of kin to kin; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and transgression.

(Al-Nahl Ch.16:V.91)

Now, ladies and gentlemen, see what a beautiful teaching this is which requires one to deal fairly with everyone and not to be cruel or unkind to anyone but to progress further from this, in that even if you have to abandon your own rights, you should continue to be just and do good unto others. Deal with others in equity and goodness as you deal with your own relatives, next of kin and as you deal with your own parents and children by overlooking their faults and errors. If you act in this way, then differences, disputes and causes of complaints amongst yourselves will end.

Then Islam forbids matters that harm morality such as indecency which takes you away from God Almighty. Stay away from things that destroy the moral fibre of society. If you usurp the rights of someone, or cause harm to someone, you will destroy social harmony. Disputes and conflicts will begin to emerge. You should always stay away from such evils.

Moreover, refrain from any matter that has the potential of causing a rebellion or can give birth to a revolt. Do not form a union that wants to confront the government. Do not commit acts that are in breach of the law. Always abide by the commandments of God Almighty. Obey the laws of the land. Do not take the law into your own hands.

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has clarified this principle for us by stating:

‘Respond to the evil of your brother with good work and in exchange for him causing you hardship, grant him ease and, out of kindness and benevolence to him, be his helper.’

So this is the Islamic teaching that the Ahmadiyya community upholds.

Then, the teaching does not say: Deal with your fellow countrymen as if you are dealing with your blood relatives, but the teaching, in the words of the Holy Qur’an is:

…Let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice.

(Al-Ma’idah Ch.5:V.9)

If you are at war with another people or engaged in a battle against them, even then remember that you must be just and fulfil the requirements of justice. If you overcome them, do not be cruel to the people of your defeated enemy; having been victorious over them, do not deprive them of their rights. If any person amongst you transgresses or is cruel to a person belonging to your defeated enemy, then do not be one-sided in favour of your own person, but fulfil the requirements of absolute justice and grant the rights to the one who is true.

In view of this teaching, I am sure that, ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me, that no one can say that Islam is a barbaric religion or that it advocates the disregard of the rights of others. After the kind of treatment that Islam teaches, there would most certainly be an atmosphere of love and affection.

Anyway, these are some of the misinterpretations and a part of the false propaganda against the commandments of Islam that have given Islam a bad name. This is why it is important that we should never think from the actions of a handful of individuals that they are representatives of Islam nor should we give undue weight to the opinion of those who are biased against Islam.

Take Christianity, for instance, which advocates extreme kindness so much so that Christians are commanded ‘whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.’ (Matthew 5:39). Now, if someone does not act on this teaching, it does not mean that Christian teaching is bad.

To get back to what I was saying, in order to generate love, understanding and affection in the society and establish peace, it is most important to create an atmosphere of tolerance so that we may all derive the maximum benefit from the many bounties of this beautiful world of God Almighty. Wherever in the world people have come to know about the message of Ahmadiyyat, the local people have always stood with us.

For example, some time ago, we constructed a mosque in a German city. By and large, the local people expressed very favourable comments. Of course, there were some biased people also. One day, someone from amongst these biased people tried to set fire to our mosque. There was a lot of damage as a result of this arson attack. The local population, which was predominantly or one should say entirely Christian, expressed great sorrow at this attack. In fact, it was one of them who raised the alarm about the fire. Even the priest of the local church came to express his sorrow. The church offered that it was ready to make good the loss suffered by the fire which amounted to almost one hundred thousand euros (e.100,000). So these sentiments that were expressed by the local Christians and the Church were because they had come to know that Ahmadi Muslims are the ones who present the true picture of the teachings of Islam and act on its teachings. Their slogan of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ is not merely a cliché but they act on it as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, those of you who are not Ahmadis but are attending this evening as our honoured guests, will see that this mosque in your town, is a symbol of peace, harmony and understanding and a beacon of light. This mosque has been built by people who believe in that person who has conveyed the true message of Islam to them. Only those who worship the One God and who have nothing but kindness for the creation of God, irrespective of caste, colour or creed, will come to worship in this mosque. The doors of this mosque are open to all. I assure the people of this town that we believe in that prophet who, for the sake of creating love and peace, forgave his bitter enemies. This is why for the establishment of peace and generating love, only love and affection will spring forth from our hearts.

The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community whom we believe to be the Promised Messiah^(as) has taught us:

‘In your gatherings, there should be neither anything foul nor ridicule and laughter. Walk on this earth while you are pure-hearted, pure-natured and pure-minded and remember that not every mischief is worth confronting. This is why it is vital that you develop the habit of forgiveness and overlooking so as to pardon at most times and work with patience and wisdom. And do not attack anyone in any prohibited manner. Suppress your ego and emotions within and if you enter into a debate or a religious dialogue, use gentle words in a civilised manner. And if someone confronts you in a foolish way, just bid peace as farewell and leave such a gathering quickly. If you are harassed and abused and bad words are said against you, then watch out that you do not match insolence with insolence otherwise you will be just as bad as them. God Almighty desires that He should make you such a community that you are the role model of good works and honesty and integrity for the world.’

I hope that these words would have removed any doubts or fears in those who harboured any misgivings about this mosque or our community.

May God Almighty enable each Ahmadi living here to become a good exemplar of Ahmadiyyat and true Islam. May each Ahmadi be the cause of removing any fears in the hearts of people.

I hope that this mosque will become a symbol of mutual love and friendship and serve as a milestone amongst people of all faiths and that from here a message will spread of the love of God Who has unlimited love for His creation. May Allah cause the feelings of love and affection to increase in us.

Finally, I wish to thank all honourable guests who have manifested their love, affection and friendship by attending the inauguration of this mosque today. May Allah grant you an excellent reward for it. Amin.